New York, March 23, 2026, 1:28 PM EDT.
Spot silver surged 3.3% to $70.01 an ounce on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a delay in planned U.S. attacks on Iranian energy sites, sparking a reversal across the metals space. Gold fell 0.4% to $4,470.36, platinum dropped 1.1%, while palladium gained 3.4%. The move rippled through metals, energy, and even equities, according to David Meger at High Ridge Futures.
It’s significant—silver’s struggling to bounce back in a market hooked on inflation and interest rate moves. On Monday, Reuters noted 10-year U.S. Treasury yields climbed to their highest in nine months. Fed futures? Pricing in a 75% shot at another U.S. rate hike before year-end. Not exactly ideal for a non-yielding metal.
COMEX silver futures for the front month traded near $70.37 on Monday, posting a roughly 1% gain, according to CME Group data. Spot silver reflects the price for immediate delivery, whereas futures contracts lock in prices for delivery down the line. The London Bullion Market Association still lists its London price as the worldwide standard for silver.
Silver got a boost as the dollar index dropped 0.6% to 98.94. Steven Englander, who leads global G10 FX research and North America macro strategy at Standard Chartered, pointed out that traders saw Trump’s comments as an indication the immediate threat to energy infrastructure was fading, though the broader conflict hadn’t changed.
Oil tumbled sharply. Brent crude slid 8% to $103.27 a barrel by early afternoon in New York, though it had plunged as much as 15% at one point. That retreat took some of the heat off metals and bonds hit by inflation worries. Most shipping was still halted through the Strait of Hormuz.
Silver miners tracked gains in the underlying metal. Pan American Silver climbed roughly 3.7%, while First Majestic Silver added 4.1% and Hecla Mining advanced 2.6% in U.S. trading, according to the latest pricing and net change figures.
The rebound remains fragile. Iran’s Fars news agency pushed back, saying there were no direct talks with Washington. Chris Beauchamp at IG Markets called the pause “not a complete cease-fire,” and Brown Brothers Harriman’s Elias Haddad called it a knee-jerk move—unless real de-escalation happens. Reuters
Silver remains far under January’s highs — back then, the metal surged past $100 an ounce, fueled by a burst of retail buying and a squeeze on physical supply. Reuters calls silver both a precious commodity and an industrial staple, citing its roles in jewellery, electronics, solar panels, and as a haven for investors. That split personality tends to amplify volatility, especially when growth jitters, interest rates, and geopolitical tensions converge.
